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Loving the Irritating
It is clear in scripture that we are to love one another. That command includes loving
our neighbor as well as our enemy. So far so good, right? However, somewhere in that
range of people exist a group of people I call the irritating ones.
You know them. Those that rant on Facebook, those that still pay with a check at the
grocery store but don’t start filling it out until they get the total, those people that finish
getting gas and sit at the pump for ten minutes when there is a line behind them, those
that keep their phones on speaker all the time, the one who blocks the turn lane so that
they can leave a five car gap between them and the car in front of them, and well,
maybe that’s just my list. But I am sure we all have our own list.
It is easy to love and act loving when we are talking in theory. Then that person comes
along and strikes that nerve. Our brain goes into a different gear, and then we begin to
think thoughts that we don’t normally think. This is when Jesus’ words get difficult.
However, we are still called to love and show Christ.
My encouragement is to find ways to respond to these irritations. Maybe it is to pray for
the person, maybe it is to consider things we do to irritate others, or maybe it is to use it
as a chance to ask God to make us more like Him. Whatever it is, we are called to love
and grow like Him. I will work on my list and I wish you blessings as you work on
yours!